The City of Cape Town’s specialised Marine and Environmental Law Enforcement Unit and members of the Table Mountain National Park Marine Unit have continued their successful operations with various arrests.
On Tuesday, 20 August 2013 the units arrested two suspects and seized a vessel and diving equipment off Sandy Bay, Llandudno, during joint operations around the peninsula.
The officers spotted a suspicious vessel inside a marine-restricted area off the coast of Llandudno. The vessel and its occupants were arrested and charged with having a vessel and diving equipment in a restricted area in terms of the Marine Living Resources Act.
The items seized included a mono-cat hull inflatable boat with 150 Horsepower engines, six oxygen cylinder tanks, two life-jackets, and other diving equipment.
The vessel was handed over to the South African Police Service (SAPS) in Bellville, and the suspects were taken to the Hout Bay Police Station where charges were lodged.
The officers also retrieved several bags containing 150 limpets and 27 abalone, ‘perlemoen’, while patrolling off Witsands Beach earlier in the afternoon. There were no signs of the poachers.
The City’s strategy of conducting regular joint operations to counter illegal marine resource extraction and the plundering of natural resources is starting to prove successful and a clear message is being sent to residents that the City is taking this matter seriously.
The Marine Unit was established in November 2012 to combat illegal marine resource extraction (including poaching) and to protect Cape Town’s coastlines.
Officers of the unit conduct daily coastal patrols with their enforcement partners, including the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, Table Mountain National Park’s Marine Unit and the SAPS. The Marine Unit supports the lifeguards in Cape Town’s coastal areas to keep beachgoers safe, particularly during the Festive Season.
Cape Town has over 300km of coastline, offering numerous economic, social and environmental benefits to surrounding communities, and the area as a whole.
Residents can report all marine-related complaints to 021 596 1999.
